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Orwell's Nose : a Pathological Biography.

Orwell's Nose is John Sutherland's original and imaginative account of the life and work of George Orwell, exploring the 'scent narratives' that abound in Orwell's fiction and non-fiction. Orwell covered his tracks well; this illuminating and irreverent book provides a new understanding of one of our most iconic and influential writers.Read more...

Reviews

Editorial reviews

Publisher Synopsis

'As the title suggests, this entertaining and scholarly, if somewhat eccentric, biography examines the life and works of George Orwell through the lens of his olfactory preoccupations ... What emerges is a rigorous, rollicking, and at times ribald portrait of the author, from his childhood "born into a class neurotic about sanitation" to the "lower-class smell" of his barracks as a British colonial policeman in Burma and his eventual marriage and purchase of "a grand building, still smelling of oats and horse piss" ... The overall depiction is diligently researched and scrupulously evenhanded, with the two authors' (perhaps) shared fixation providing a unique scaffolding for a fresh look at a luminary of English letters.' - Publishers Weekly 'Do we need another biography of George Orwell? The answer is yes, if it is as racily readable as Orwell's Nose. Orwell's obsession with smells, agreeable and (more often) offensive has been noted before, but never explored to such effect, not excluding the smells of shag tobacco and b.o. he emitted himself. Sutherland combines admiration for Orwell's "perfect prose" with a candid registration of his imperfections as a man, and his almost masochistic tendency to make life difficult for himself - which often however inspired his finest work.' - David Lodge 'It's difficult to describe this odd, wonderful, and exhilarating book by John Sutherland on Orwell. Sutherland is without doubt one of the best minds at work in literary studies, and one expects from him the unexpected. Orwell's Nose is certainly one of his most unexpected books, and might well be his best to date. This shrewd and riveting book deserves a wide audience.' - Jay Parini, author of Every Time a Friend Succeeds Something Inside Me Dies: The Life of Gore VidalRead more...